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When In Doubt, Aura

When In Doubt, Aura

You may recall that our dear friend Bijou wrote 24 new Bijouisms for our 2025 Bijou Be Well series. We released a new Bijouism for 21 days straight in May, and our community loved them. 

But wait... that means there were three new Bijouisms that were not released in May... 

Today, we release one of those three!

When In Doubt, Aura

 

Maria writes...

You might be tired of hearing me talk about “aura,” but please hear me out.

When Rick and I were handed this gift (later called Zentangle), we were constantly “winging it.” “How about this?” Or “Let’s try that!” Our thoughts were caught up in whirls of enthusiasm, passion, and of course, creativity. There was no room in our journey for self-doubt. Simple as that. 

The patterns we were drawing were simple, simple enough to assure the beginner tangler that they could draw them. Why? Because we wanted to attract people who were absolutely convinced that they could not even “draw a straight line.” We met these people at craft fairs and the like who would watch me calligraph beautiful words with flowing, unwavering messages that held them captive. Just about every one of them said, “I could never do that... but I wish I could!” And that was probably true as I had trained and practiced constantly for forty years at that point in my life.

But as we listened closer to them, it wasn’t exactly what I was doing that they craved, but overall flowing creativity they saw. To make something beautiful... that was the real desire.

This was our main desire: to show people how to create beautiful images PDQ (pretty darn quickly). Rick and I loved this challenge. It felt like training to climb Mount Everest. Well, sort of. No offense to mountain climbers (maybe I should give it a try...). But we not only had to do it ourselves, but also push others up the mountain as we went along.

All of this is to explain the necessary simplicity of the Zentangle Method. We began with the simplest step we could think of. Four dots with a pencil on a small square of paper. Done. Connect the dots with a light pencil line. Done. Draw a “string” with a pencil. Done. Now the fun part begins: our first tangle, crescent moon.  

We go right to the pen and draw the tiny black “ladybug” shapes around the inside of a portion of the string. Then, the magic happens. Draw a line. Not just any line, this line is called an aura. This line mimics that ladybug shape but leaves a small space between the line and ladybug. This is how we introduce confidence, one tiny step at a time (again, that mountain climbing analogy). What we perhaps didn’t know at the time, is how often we would use this line, this technique, in many of our tangles. 


Aura is so powerful. It can change the character of a tangle just by how (often) you use it. 

I have to admit that I use aura when I come to a standstill, when I’m unsure what to do next. I aura the last aura. Or I go back to the other tangles and aura inside their shapes or around the perimeter of the whole tangle. It never gets tiring. And to me, the details always enhance the composition. Zentangle is all about tangles. The more complex it is, the more interesting. Of course, that is just my humble opinion, and, well, I’m sticking to it.


Long story short... when in doubt, aura!

Let us know in the comments how the philosophies of Lady Aura guide you as you tangle. One lucky commentor will receive a new Bijouism deck (Nos. 25-48).

Maria Thomas

46 comments

  • Thanks for providing the artwork for my latest tattoo. 😁🥰 Seeing you all at ZA filled up my ZTHQ heart! ❤️

    Kim Kohler on

  • Yes, Lady Aura can be varied, such as thick or thin, dotted, and spaced out, with some closer and some farther away. As you draw, ideas will emerge……(:•:)o<

    Chouti Lim CZT ASIA 19 on

  • Hello from a “future” CZT! I am registered to attend CZT Seminar #43!
    I love the concept of using the “aura” to enhance a tangle, but I must admit, I have a hard time keeping the lines evenly spaced. My 70 year old hand tends to get crampy and shake! Then it struck me after reading your blog, I need to use the technique to enhance my Zen, not just the tangle! I think I was “rushing” the process, thus my shakey, uneven auras were due to the rush. I needed to get back into the ZEN part of Zentangle! Thank you, Bijou, for reminding me to APPRECIATE, SAVOR, AND ENJOY the process!💜
    DebiLynn Smith
    CZT43 (in October) 😁

    DebiLynn Smith on

  • One of the mottos I follow, when I get stuck or unsure, is that auras often subtly improve my work! And as a concept, it takes me back to my approach to the subject of “auras,” “good or bad vibes,” “positive energy,” or reading a person’s psychological state of mind at a given moment.

    In my short but wonderful life as CZTEU5, I maintain that auras always bring beauty, enhancing the elements that surround them with their mere presence. But you also pose another, almost existential, question:
    How much auras? …..
    Thank you for all you do to inspire us to continue growing in our personal artistic expression!

    carmela on

  • This Bijouism is very near and dear to my heart. It was the favorite Zentangle saying of Lee Kay, CZT 33 who was my local Zentangle teacher and became a dear, dear friend. Lee lost her life to breast cancer in January 2025. Whenever I’m at a loss of what to do next while tangling, I can hear Lee say “when in doubt…aura”. I’m so happy it has become an official Bijouism! 💝

    Carol R. on

  • С благодарност!

    Обожавам зентенгъла!
    Той е моята страст, моето хоби, моята наслада, моето откъсване от тревоги и болка!
    Обичам да се заплитам!
    Обичам всички тангли!
    И колкото са по-заплетени, толкова е по-интересно!
    Обичам и тангъла “полумесец”, калинката…
    Толкова е обикновен, но с него се творят необикновени неща…
    А, аурата винаги ми носи завършеност!
    Тя затваря… Довършва… Разкрасява…
    Носи някаква особена ритмика… пулсация…
    Да, точно така! Носи пулсация на сплитането!
    Като звуковите вълни…
    ЕДНО нежно разпространение на красивото сплитане…
    Да, може би и аз опирам до аурата, когато се нуждая от ново вдъхновение!
    Като една малка спирка по пътя към новото зареждане!
    Благодаря ви, мили хора, за вдъхновението, с което ме зареждате!
    Очаквам с трепет всеки ваш нов проект!
    Здрави и благословени!

    Дафи on

  • When I’m making an aura, I seldom make the lines even. It used to frustrate me that it didn’t look “perfect”, then one day I realized that the lines don’t need to be equidistant. I now embrace all those imperfections and they just make the tile a reflection of me. I’ve been making Zentangles for so many years now, that I can’t imagine not having supplies along for any appointment, vacation, road trip, or whatever. I have tiles and supplies in my purse and in almost every room in the house, “just in case”. Thank you. Zentangle has been such a gift. You have literally saved my sanity more times than I can count.

    Melody Charno on

  • С благодарност!

    Обожавам зентенгъла!
    Той е моята страст, моето хоби, моята наслада, моето откъсване от тревоги и болка!
    Обичам да се заплитам!
    Обичам всички тангли!
    И колкото са по-заплетени, толкова е по-интересно!
    Обичам и тангъла “полумесец”, калинката…
    Толкова е обикновен, но с него се творят необикновени неща…
    А, аурата винаги ми носи завършеност!
    Тя затваря… Довършва… Разкрасява…
    Носи някаква особена ритмика… пулсация…
    Да, точно така! Носи пулсация на сплитането!
    Като звуковите вълни…
    ЕДНО нежно разпространение на красивото сплитане…
    Да, може би и аз опирам до аурата, когато се нуждая от ново вдъхновение!
    Като една малка спирка по пътя към новото зареждане!
    Благодаря ви, мили хора, за вдъхновението, с което ме зареждате!
    Очаквам с трепет всеки ваш нов проект!
    Здрави и благословени!

    Дафи on

  • I love this post – and the explanation about auras. I, too, find myself drawing auras when I can’t think of anything else, and also as an extra detail. The extra detail auras are usually inside the design. Part of my brain wants them all to be exactly the same – the same distance, the same smooth replication of a shape. I try to ignore that part of my brain because I now believe that the beauty of the design lies in the “imperfections” – the auras that aren’t exactly the same width apart, or the auras that have some wobbly lines. Being able to accept and appreciate these “imperfections” is very freeing!

    Angelia R on

  • Sometimes aura-ing is difficult for me because I want my lines to be equally distant. But as I draw the aura line it wobbles, it gets too close to the previous line, then too far. BUT, I keep trying to. And in the end the completed tile looks amazing.

    Laurie Patterson on

  • Sometimes aura-ing is difficult for me because I want my lines to be equally distant. But as I draw the aura line it wobbles, it gets too close to the previous line, then too far. BUT, I keep trying to. And in the end the completed tile looks amazing.

    Laurie Patterson on

  • Aura is that next step up the mountain, it is the step that is so similar to the last that it is easy enough to take, but just that little bit different, different enough that by doing a number of them repaeatly the step completely changes and the overall result is something unpredictable and amazing. By taking enough small incremental steps in life we can climb mountains. Anything is possible, one aura at a time. It is the way to grow new desirtable habits and diminish old unwanted ones – very gradually and consistently until the tile of your life looks completely different.Thank-you for the amazing wisdom that is the Zentangle Philososphy.

    Lucy Burgess CZT32 on

  • I find auras are very meditative for me – they truly put me in that ‘flow’ state. There have been times when I’m struggling with a problem or decision that I have filled an entire page with auras (like Scena). In the peace and calm of drawing those repetitive lines, I usually find my solution.

    Carol Graham on

  • A-always U-use R-random A-auras S-soon

    I always use random auras sooner rather than later. Neve too soon in a tangle to just aura.

    Sue Leslie CZT on

  • My relationship with aura has changed over time. At first, I was trying to get them the same size and then I was trying to get them smaller because at first my auras were about a quarter of an inch wide. Then I realized I could do smaller and wider. Now I decorate the auras.

    Lisa Hoesing on

  • I appreciate how drawing an aura can slow things down and help me really attend to process. With much gratitude. 🙏

    Molly Siddoway King CZT36 on

  • This is always my favorite thing! If I don’t know what to do next I can always aura…. And there are so many ways to aura … and decorate it! Lady Aura is definitely an inspiration!

    Jeanie “JJ” James on

  • I love wearing my t-shirt, “when in doubt…aura”. It starts conversations about the Zentangle method. Using an aura whenever I am stuck, makes the tangle pop-out!

    Mary Kay Cass, C.Z.T. on

  • Ya got to love that word “Aura”. Its meaning strikes my fancy. Suave, stylishness, confident. You have an aura of friendliness. You are cool. You are trusting. And Lady Aura oozes with these lovely phrases in her way of tangling. When in doubt, just aura.

    Charlann Walker, Czt16 on

  • Aura is amazing! It has got to be the most versatile tangle enhancer there is. I didn’t use it much, except when included in a tangle. Ever since Maria said, “when in doubt, aura” I use it all the time. Love me some Aura!

    Laura Treichel on

  • Aura-ing is a straightforward and natural process. we don’t need to invent a new shape or decide where to go next; we just follow what’s already there. This method takes me back to my childhood memories where in notebook i used to draw fish and in that i used to make designs by repeating lines , making aura makes me calm.

    Sweta Dalal CZT 30 on

  • Appropriately enough, “when in doubt, Aura” is the phrase that has been popping in my head most often recently. I’m still new-ish to this practice, so I often don’t know what to do next. Aura-ing is always a great option! The Bijouism I need to work on most is “Slow Down”! I am getting better at that.

    Beth Liddle on

  • Lady aura, for me it is Maria voice echoes in mind, when in doubt aura. So in the beginner class we have a aura session with .icso written big and just aura on either side and the magic of shading.. students are surprised on the end result .. aura is such a simple and beautiful concept and many tangles has it in them. Also aura is like ripple of positive vibes spreading around ..

    maya avanith Czt 34 on

  • I love to Aura, if I am looking at my tile, and think it is missing something , I Aura around something and it is all better, it is is so strange how a line around something changes everything. I have started adding Bijouisms to the backs of some of the Zentangle bookmarks I have been doing, I think it just adds that little something. In May I went to buy the 2nd set of cards, but I didn’t realize you had to change it to the 2nd set and bought the first set, so to I just come onto this sight and look for inspiration Bijou to put on my bookmarks. Thank you Rick and Maria for for Zentangle it is very relaxing, and helpful when I am stressed out, I have worked in a hospital for the mentally ill for the last 36 years, it can be stressful, but it is so rewarding. I have been trying to get other interested in Zentangle at work so we can share it with more patients, maybe someday.

    Dolores Redifer on

  • Last night I was working on another version of the IDOZ tile and stuck in a crescent moon instead of the chevron-ish auras. I aura’ed each line with a different color. It was absolutely a “when in doubt, AURA” tile.

    Jessica CZT36 on

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